Despite the ongoing Zones of Special Operations and the supposedly much-improved States of Public Emergency, citizens of western parishes, particularly those in St. James, continue to cower in fear, as the increased security presence appears not to be having its intended impact, with murders still occurring with some regularity.

Powell Sr. only received news of his son’s whereabouts the morning after the incident, when he was informed by a friend that his son had been fatally shot. Powell Sr. attempted to call Mark’s phone several times prior to being informed of his fate, but his calls went unanswered. It was then that he began to suspect something was amiss.

Highly placed police sources theorize that the killing could be in reprisal for the slaying of Matthew Whittingham of Buck Toe Lane, who was gunned down on Saturday, January 26, while having his hair groomed at a hair salon in Albion.